Day 61 -- Taste Buds? Meet Umami.

I'm a big fan of "Top Chef" and now, I've been watching "The Taste."  Occasionally, I've heard them make reference to an "umami" flavor in food and I've always been curious about what that was.  I thought it referred to an earthy flavor, something like mushrooms or root veggies, but I wasn't really sure.  So I decided to do a little research and to my surprise, I learned something new.

I've always known that the tongue can distinguish four tastes -- salty, sweet, bitter and sour.  But there's actually a fifth taste the is referred to by its Japanese name -- umami.  Roughly translated, umami means "pleasant savory taste."  And now that I know what it means, I know why I love some of the vegan soups I've been making.  And why miso has become such an important ingredient for me in soups.

There was actually an Umami International Symposium that recognized umami as an official taste.   It can be described as a pleasant "brothy" or "meaty" taste with a long lasting, mouthwatering and coating sensation over the tongue.  There is a whole chemical explanation for what umami is, but I won't get into that here.  Glutamates and stuff like that.  Foods that are full of the umami taste include fish, shellfish, and cured meats.  (Bacon anyone??)  As for vegetables, mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, spinach, and celery are just a few.  Fermented and aged products including cheeses, soy sauce, and miso are also filled with umami flavor.

This is the taste that I really search for in my vegan dishes.  It replaces that rich, fatty flavor that comes from fried meats and it's very satisfying and comforting.  I'm not sure I completely understand the diagram above but it will give me something to think about while choosing favorite recipes.